Have you ever had a significant encounter with someone at Market Basket– in– say, the frozen food section? I can’t say that I have…but while fondling a yam—I had an idea for a poem, but I digress. In playwright Christopher Durang’s play “ Laughing Wild,”presented by the Hub Theatre Company of Boston, at the Club Cafe in the South End of the city, something significant happens between two conflicted characters in the tuna fish aisle at Gristede’s in New York City. The play ( set in the 1980s)  directed by former Somerville resident Margaret Ann Brady, uses this encounter between an unnamed man and woman as a conduit for an exploration of ontological questions like: why can’t I find love? a job? meaningful work? spiritual fulfillment? etc…

Lisa Kaufman is  a visual artist, a yoga teacher and a poet. Her  poems have been published in several print and online publications, including “Lyrical Somerville” column ( Nov 5, 2008 Lisa Kaufman “His House”)  of The Somerville News, Somerville, MA., Bagels with the Bards: Anthology Number 4/Number 5/Number 6, and Wilderness House Literary Review.  Kaufman is a Somerville resident and wrote, “Follies” after catching the local Memorial Day Parade passing through into Davis Square. Each moment was recreated with run-on sentences, pressed unrelenting into a cavalcade of memories.

Due to rain and thunderstorms throughout the evening, tonight’s National Night Out event has been cancelled.

Arrests:
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Alyse Bookman, of 3 Rock Ave., Swampscott, July 27, 12:50 p.m., arrested at Washington St. on a warrant charge of operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

More than $3.7 million is available this fiscal year for affordable housing, open space, outdoor recreation and historic preservation projects in Somerville through the Community Preservation Act (CPA), and Somerville residents, organizations and businesses are invited to submit their project proposals to see if they are eligible for funding. Details on what CPA funds can be used for are available at http://www.somervillema.gov/cpa.

In the latest Somerville Neighborhood Newscast, the news team brings you some of the latest headlines and happenings in Somerville. ​Here are the headlines:

Pilot project sets example of tactical urbanism for residents and businesses

The city’s first public parklet (or mini park) is now open on Somerville Avenue thanks to a partnership with Forge Baking Company. At just the size of roughly two car-lengths, the seasonal Forge Parklet qualifies as the city’s smallest park, but it packs in plenty of outdoor seating ringed by flower boxes by seasonally transforming two parking spaces into attractive open space (the spaces will revert to parking during winter). Somerville continues to explore innovative ways to expand public space across the city and plans to launch a program later this year that will provide a “how-to” guide for other businesses interested in parklets and other tactical urbanism ideas that support public life. The Forge Parklet is the city’s pilot program to test the process.

By Rebecca Danvers

Long before punk rock inflicted its puncture wound on the map of mainstream music, the Descendents were in a van brewing a potent mix of pop, angst, love and coffee and influencing a generation to come.

As the revitalization of historic Union Square is undertaken through the redevelopment of seven key parcels in and around the square, the City of Somerville is also aiming to develop an innovative new model for public benefits agreements that address social equity through affordable housing and jobs, open space, infrastructure, sustainability and more. This is being facilitated through collaboration with LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors. LOCUS, a program of Smart Growth America, is a nationally renowned advocacy and research organization dedicated to building successful mixed-income, walkable urban communities. This is work will be done in collaboration with the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at the George Washington University (GWU). The collaboration is generously supported by a grant from the Barr Foundation.

som|dog’s annual Pet Palooza will kick off this with a TechBark launch party, Friday July 31^st from 6–10 as we bring dogs, beer and technology together for a bark tech social.